Spray gun and cleaning means therefor



'v E. A. WARD SPRAY GUN AND CLEANING lEANgTl-IEREFOR July 28, 1931.

July-28, 1931. E. A. WARD 11,816,555

/` I SPRAY GUN AND CLEANING EMS THERBI'OR Filed Feb. 11, 1929 2 miti-Shet 2 @gf (7v gmc/nto@ Eff/es? hay@ Patented July 28, 1931 ERNEST A. WARD, HIGGINSVILLE, MISSOURI SPRAY GUN AND vCLEANING MEANS THEREFOR- Aipplication led February 11, 1929. Serial No. @9.156.

This invention relates'to an improved con-V tribution to the art which embodies, in one instance, la unique portable spraytgun for use in otherwise inaccessible places; and fur* ther, to novel cleaning means such as may be used in association with a conventional type of gun without requiring alterations of the stock parts.

Spray guns usedin applying paints, varnishes, lacquers, etc., are all much of the same construction as the gun herein shown. They are in very general use and their use is' rapidly increasing. So far as we know no satisfactory method lof cleaningthe guns and material lines is now in use or patented, except the present' method oftaking the guns apart, washing the parts in a cleaning fluid andswabbing out the passages. The

Y, material lines are cleaned by flowing the cleaning fluid through them.` These methods are unsatisfactor slow and tedious, and necessitate the use o a considerable amount of cleaning fluid and much time is lost. By

2,5 the use of the cleaning device herewith presented, the work can be done in a highly satisfactory manner with a minimum amount of Huid and in a fractional part of the time now necessary. Under present methods the 4 cleaning of the gun and material line is too often neglected because of the timeand trouble involved in the operation, and although the material may not always harden and clog the gun or material line, skimsv are` formed by the material which are blown on the surface of application when the gun is next put in operation. i

Broadly stated, the improved cleaning means is operable Yeither, by. air pressure from a storage tank or pressure pump, or by air pressure acting on a body of cleaning fluid. l t

In carrying out the invention I provide a portable closed container which ,is detachably connected to thedistributing head of a conventional bored casting forming a part ofthe gun, and in its broadest aspect, when using air pressure, without a cleaning fluid, this containerfunctions as an air collection and compression vessel, causing the air when compressed, sufliciently," to return or blow purposes, as vwell as for cleaning these parts. f r

It is further `within the inventive concept to provide a` container back through the material passage and `line of the invention which maybe usedin an invertedposition or an upright position, and which is intended to containa cleaning fluid, which when acted upon by through the material passage and liney for `more effectively cleansing the ,surfaces "of these, features. t

Then too, it is an object to utilize a cleaningv fluid in association with the container not only for cleaning purposes, ibut ofsuch texture as tovfurther function as a reducer and thinner for the coatingmaterial.

It is to be further stated that the invention contemplates the provision of a standardi'zed container, or a container havingla standardized connecting neck for accommodating a collar-like coupling for` cleaning a reducer-'coupling for portable spray gun purposes.

Other features and advantages of the invention Ywill become more'readily apparent fromk the following ,description and drawings.l

Y In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in section'and elevation showing a conventional spray gun with the containercoupled to the distributing head thereof,the container being shown. in an inormor embodiment oft-he invention.

Figure 2 is a view similarV to Figure 1 the air pressure, is returned verted position, this being the more simple,

Figure 3 is a *horizontaly sectional view t taken approximatelyupon the plane of the line 3--3` of Figure 2`looking downwardly in the direction of the arrow.

- Figure 4 is a view taken the plane of theysame line upwardly.V

(3 3 looking Figure 5 is a reduced view in elevationV and section showing the manner whichl the container is" adapted'for vsupplying coat substantially on ing material, tol provide a small portable spray gun. Y

It is understood that no claim is made for the construction of the spray gun eX- cept as it is combinedv or used in conjunction with the supplemental appliances oi this invention. However, the complete spray gun has been shown' with such'essen tial parts in 'detail in order that a clear comprehension of the invention may be obtained. Inall forms oi Athe i-nventionseen, the spray gun is of the pistol type and includes (see Figure pressure air line 7 connected thereto, and the customary right angularly extending bored @saine s.: The. .distributing had is l designated bythe numeral 9v and carries a container i A and useable in all three ofthe embodiments.

for coating material.` y acter 252l designates .anair space.

retaining cap 10` for the distributing nozzle 11., have'shown a pivoted.r trigger 12 actingon the'air'valve' trip 13 and `a sliding bail 14 acting on the adjustable device 15 on thenend of the' materiali control needle valve V16.V This valve cooperates'with thecustomary conicalffitting 17 ,associatedl with the nozzle.` The numeral 18 ldesignates av connection for the coating vmaterial conduct` ing hose or line 19. i When using `the clean'- device,athe cap'10 andknozzle l11 are ing v i oved, i When 'using' the ,device vseen 1n re Figure 5 however-these parts are left in place asisl usual. y Y

Before discussing the different ernbQdiments of the'invention in detail, I wish to emphasize the utilization of .certainfstandardized parts and the use of a bottle'shaped which of a convertible nature of the invention herein represented. y y l Attention is, however, first invited to Figure 1 wherein it will be seen thatv I fhaver rep-y resented a structure for cleaning the parts 16, 17, 18 and 19. In accomplishing this result I employ, as before intimated, a comparatively small` bottle-shaped ccntainer 2O which in'accordance with .this 'particular embodimentlo the* invention is usedv in an inverted, position. This is adaptedVA to he rpartly filled lwith a cleaning iluid 21K. This( Huidfis preferably ofa texture so'tha't it may have vthe additional function ofV a thinner The reference char- The i111.- ineral'QSdenotes aremovable plug which serves a pur josetobe hereinafterfdescribed. The neck ol the bottleis designated at 24 and is ,internally screw-threaded. Incarrying out this idea have adopteda coupling collar 215'v which internally V screw-threaded to'p'ermit it to be connected with the atom- Sad. distributing hsadff, This makesit necessary'of course to remove thefcap 10,v nozzle 11 tosubstitute the coupling c fQll`ar. The collar is .termed with. a dat faced. nertiQnZG i'OrIniIlg a Wrenchzgrip. te facilitate,

ffl applicationand removal., *MoreOver it has 5)'ahand grip (5,.a-

container 20 itwill be seen that when the Y trigger 12 is depressed it will iirst open the `air line con-trol valve by way of the stemv 13 thus shooting a current of air into the 'container through Athe cleansing fluid or liquid. This air will be compressed in the sufiicient pressure to space' 22' and build-'up i'luid 21. suc-v torcbly eject the lcleansing lcessive ni-ovementfof thetrigger 12 ingthe same chrecti i nfwill then openy the needle valve 1 6 and theffluid under-pressurewill pass through the fitting 17 and throughfthe passage and the nck 18 into the hoseor line 19 thus, cleaning the surfaces O these parts. s I f y e The greater theT pressure in the compression tank the stronger will be the flow of the cleaning liquld When. the :air Valve.y is

openedto full capacity. Y.The airv pressurey be regulated by thefpull lonthe trigger, ApproXimatelythefsanielpressure as is car'.- ried inthe compression Vtank can be applied in the cleaning of thefgun and material line. It; is "advisable to disconnect the material line from the supply tank (notshown) when the material line is beingclfeaned to prevent aA slight back pressure from the tank, b11t that is not absolutely ,necessary since the pressure carried in .the air compression'tank S Strong @.Ilflugh tatorce the eleaningliquid Out ofthe cleaning device through lthe gun and material line and into., the tank. Since the ,cleaning Huid .used is also used las a reducer or thinner thefaddition of theisrnall amount of cleaning liquid necessarytfo clean the gun and materalline, will do no harm, especially when it is, necessary toy add the llo reducer or thinner `which often'mustbe done: o

For best yresults the material lineV should be discoldnected from thematerial tank., i

The cleaning device may be used Vnlanfunesiti-.OnV is right position, if 'the inverted found unhandy and ohjectionabl e.y To d0 this it is only necessary to invert the, parts from the position Seen in Figure 1 to the positionlseen in Figure 2. Incidentally, like reference Characters designate. like parts in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. When'using the structure as seen in Fig-ure 2 however it is necessary to provide an additional fitting. This comprises a;

threadedv into the. colla-r 25,.4 and previded with diametrically oppositeopenings 3,0., .and Centrally arranged fluidelevating'tube4 This. tube extends down vdlrou'gli the. fluid. andv .terminates agpoint in: close.. spaced proximity tethe lo.otteinI ofthe container 2.0 }y

disk-like plug 29 which is Iii) Hence, in this arrangement when the air is turned on, the current of air shoots down through the ports 30 and forces downwardly on the column of liquid, thus forcing it up through the elevating tube, through .the parts 17, 18 and 19.

The cleaning device may also be use( without cleaning fluid. By attaching the empty cleaning device to the gun and by opening the air valve the air pressure can be forced through the gun, through the material nozzle by opening it, and through the gun and material line thereby forcing accumulated material or obstructions from the gun and material line. In thisl way too, air pressure may be put into vthe material tank to quicken the flow of the material.

If desired the cleaning device may be used to force a reducing liquid or thinner intoV the material tank and in the same operation mix the reducer or thinner with the material. This can be done by putting thereducer or thinning liquid in the cleaning device then by attaching the same to the gun and Yinverting the cleaning device and by opening the air valve and the material nozzle the reducer or thinning liquid is forced out of the cleaning device into the material tank. Since this reducer or thinning liquid enters the bottom of the material tank the air pressure causes a thorough mixing of the reducer and material.

Coming now to Figure 5 it will be seen that the structure here represented provides a portable arrangement operating somewhat as an ordinary atomizer but using the same bottle-like container 20. In accomplishing this result, the material or fluid line 19 is of course detached and a reducer coupling 33 is substituted therefor. The unoer end 34 is coupled to the part 18 and the portionV 35 is threaded into the container neck. This portion 35 carries a fluid elevating tube 36 through which the fiuid is elevated by suction. In this arrangement the aforesaid Y screw plug 23 is removed to provide a vent and opening the valve 16. lhen this is done, the air will pass into the space between the head 9 and nozzle 11, flowing therefrom through fitting 17 and parts k33 and 36 into the container 20.

, A careful consideration of the description in conjunction with the drawings will enable the reader to obtain a clear understanding of theconstruction, the valuableutility of thel bottle-like container, and the utility andstandardization of parts neccssaryvin Vsuccessfully accomplishing the several results described. In fact, it is believed that a clear Vunderstanding of the features and advantages will be had and therefore, a more lengthy description isregarded unnecessary. y

Minor changes in shape, size and rear` rangement of details coming within the field of invention claimed may be resorted to in actual practice if desired.

What I claim is: p

1. In a spray gun having a distributing head and air and liquid passages opening through said head, successively operable valve means for controlling saidpassages, air and liquid lines connected with the intake ends of said passages, meansfor cleaning the spray gun consisting of a closed container detachably connected with said head and adapted to contain a solution, whereby when said passages are opened, the air will Y pass through the liquid in the container and force the liquid from the container back through the liquid passage and liquid line connected therewith. y

2. In ay structure of the class described, acontainer, an attaching collar removably connected to said container and internally screw-threaded for detachable connection with the distributing head of a spray gun, and a tting associated with said collar and comprising a disk-like apertured Vplug y threaded into said collar and having a depending liquid elevating tube connected thereto and extending down into the container with its intake end disposed in close spaced proximity to the bottom of the container.

3. In a structure of the class described, no Y a container, an attaching vcollar `removably Y connected to said container and internally screw-threaded for detachable connection with the distributinghead of a spray gun, and a fitting associated with said collar and comprising a disk-like apertured plug Y threaded into said collar and having a Vdepending liquid elevating tube connected thereto and extending down into the container with its intake end disposed in close V spaced proximity to the bottom of the container, together with a spray gun includingV a screw-threaded distributing head with which said collar is connecte 4. A kprocess for cleaning spray guns having a distributing head and air and liquid passages opening through said head, consisting of attaching a receptacle for cleaning fluid to said distributing head, and providing means to' utilize the compressed air 13 4 Y www@ supplied1 to the gun; for forcing-.the Cleaning fluidi from said receptacle throught-he liquid passages of thel spray' gun, inL af direction reverse toy that in Which material; is no1'- mally orcedbhrough ther gun for spraying;

Intestimony whereof I affix myisig-ilature.

ERNEST, WARD... 

